The Knitted Radio

The Knitted Radio is part of an ongoing investigation towards using traditional textile crafting techniques to create electronic components and devices from scratch. The overall investigation questions whether ‘what’ one makes is really more important than ‘how’ one makes things. The tactile piece manifests how to knit a sweater that is also a FM radio transmitter. By equipping the wearer with the ability to occupy electronic space, the casual knitwear intends to inspire local, free communication structures. The experiment is dedicated to the diverse crowd involved in recent Gezi Park protests in Taksim Square, Istanbul.

The residency at Eyebeam was dedicated to the production of the sweater and the development of the according knitting pattern, the way popular knitting magazines publish their models. That allows the reproduction of the sweater/FM transmitter through manual knitting techniques. The research on the broader topic will continue as arts-based research project at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna, Austria. The progress can be followed at www.stitchingworlds.net